Myasthenia Gravis; Frequency of Different Clinical Features in Patients Presenting to a Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi

Abstract

ABSTRACT… Objectives: To determine the frequency of different clinical features of myasthenia gravis in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital, Karachi. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Neurology ward, JPMC, Karachi. Period: 23 rd January 2013 to 22 nd July 2013. Patients and Methods: A total of 71 diagnosed patients of Myasthenia Gravis (MG) between the age 15 and 70 years were recruited. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data regarding most common clinical manifestations of MG. Data were entered and analyzed in SPSS version 17. Chi-Square test was used as test of significance. Results: Mean age + S.D of patients was 34.11 ± 10.42 years. The mean ± SD of duration of symptoms among these patients was 5.23 ± 3.52 months. Most of the patients (21%) belong to age between 21 to 30 years. Regarding clinical features in these patients of myasthenia gravis it was noted that ptosis and diplopia were most common symptoms, 62% and 54.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Myasthenia gravis, a chronic neuromuscular disorder leads to various degrees of neurologic dysfunction which manifest as different clinical features. The current study found that ocular symptoms are commonest presenting features. Key words:Myasthenia gravis, ocular symptoms, ptosis, generalized weakness, dysphagia.